Sankey charts are a powerful visualization tool that helps organizations make sense of hierarchically structured data. These charts use two different lines (representing input and output arrows) to represent the flow of data along different levels of the hierarchy. This article will provide a guided tour on creating and using Sankey charts for organizing and representing hierarchical data in your organization.
Introduction:

Hierarchical data is data that is organized in a way that follows a tree structure. For example, in the world of finance, a company hierarchy might be structured like so:

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This type of data is often difficult to extract meaning from without a clear hierarchical structure. Sankey Charts can help to represent this data in a way that makes it more understandable and more easily navigable.
Creating Sankey Charts:

Before we dive into creating Sankey Charts, it’s important to understand the basic principles of the chart. Sankey charts have two lines (input and output arrows) that are interconnected. The first line represents the input arrows, showing the direction of flow, and the second line represents the output arrows, showing the direction of flow. These lines are connected to the edges of the chart that are labeled with the level of the hierarchy.
This means that when you add data points to the chart, you need to create a hierarchy structure for the data. You can do this by adding arrows to the input and output arrows that represent the level of the hierarchy.
Once you have structured the data according to the hierarchy structure, you can represent the flow of data throughout the hierarchy using the Sankey chart.
Using Sankey Charts:

Sankey Charts are great for representing hierarchical data because they make it easy to see who is producing or consuming data within a specific level of the hierarchy. The input arrows on the left-hand side represent who is producing data, while the output arrows on the right-hand side represent who is consuming data.
This can be particularly useful in projects that involve multiple departments or teams, as the Sankey chart represents the relationships between each department or team. For example, a Sankey chart could show how different departments or teams contribute to a project:
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This shows that Department A produced about half of the project, while Department B produced the other half. The input arrow from Department A to the output arrow for Department A and B show the amount of data provided by Department A.
Conclusion:

Sankey charts are an excellent tool for organizing and representing hierarchical data in an easily understandable way. By using a clear hierarchy structure and structuring the data accordingly, you can easily represent the flow of data through hierarchical structures in a graphical way. Whether you are working on projects that involve multiple departments or teams, or just want to better understand the flow of data within a single level of the hierarchy, a Sankey chart can be an invaluable tool.

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